[MUD-Dev] Re: Ugh, IS Diablo a mud?

[Caliban Tiresias Darklock]

On 08:53 PM 9/25/98 -0500, I personally witnessed Koster, Raph jumping up
to say:
>
>Here's one to add to the list that my wife Kristen (occasional poster)
>came up with:
>
>- an expectation that the social experience occurs within the game, and
>not outside it.
>
>Thoughts?

Excellent point. There *are* social aspects to Quake, Diablo, and their ilk
-- but they tend to take place in another window on an IRC server. Perhaps
this is one of the most telling factors, but I have to question: does she
mean within the game *context* or within the game *server*? For example, if
people discuss things on your MUD, is it considered part of the social
experience of that MUD when they discuss things that aren't directly
related to the game like what movie they saw last month and what CDs they
just bought? And if people discuss things elsewhere, like on the
aforementioned IRC server, is it *outside* the social experience when they
actively discuss things directly related to the game?

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